It is customary for patrons of barber shops, beauty parlors, etc., to wear capes while getting a haircut (of any type). Such an article prevents the vast majority of cut hair from landing on and adhering to a patron's own clothing, thereby allowing such unwanted hair residue to primarily land on the shop floor instead. Additionally, such a cape allows for the application of water, hairspray, pomade, hair dye, and other types of liquids to the patron's hair before, during, and after a haircutting activity. Furthermore, patrons seeking perms and other like treatments, without the necessity of a haircut, utilize such cape articles to protect his or her clothing in a like manner. Basically, such capes are mainstays within the hair treatment industry.
Although these articles have been utilized for many years, there are distinct problems with those found in typical barber and beauty (or both) establishments. For the most part, the fact that not all patrons are of the same size creates an initial issue in that there are few capes that provide a suitable one-size-fits-all configuration. As such, there exists a need to provide capes that include modification possibilities to allow for such patron size and build differences. These possibilities, however, are very limited to, for example, the presence, on one top end of a sample cape, of multiple snaps or buttons (with a single receiver or buttonhole on the opposite top end) in staggered distances from one another along the same top end. Such a format thus allows, to a certain extent, the ability to wrap a cape around a patron and connect the ends together at a point for which possible suitable coverage (and hoped-for comfort) are accorded the wearer. Unfortunately, without a very high number of such snaps in place, the ability to provide a complete, snug cover around every potential patron is impossible. With some patrons, there will remain gaps in the cape top periphery, or the cape may actual slip in one direction until it catches on one side of the wearer's neck. In essence, such a snap or button configuration, though prevalent in today's hair treatment shops, exhibit significant deficiencies, particularly if liquids are applied to a subject's hair while a loosely placed cape is utilized.
There have been some attempts to correct for these drawbacks. For instance, one typical measure undertaken is the jury-rigging of a cape with a temporarily placed hair clip around a bunched portion of such a draped cape article. Such a procedure, however, has proven highly suspect and undesirable, primarily due to the potential of nicking the patron with the teeth portions of the clip during application to the cape, as well as the ease with which such a clip can be dislodged from its position through typical haircutting movements. The need to avoid any contact with such a suspect device requires further concentration on that aspect of a haircut or other exercise, rather than on the patron's hair alone. As well, the utilization of such an exterior clip device does not function well in relation to dye, perm, or other like liquid applications.
Other possible improvements have included the utilization of magnets (instead of snaps) to provide a snug fit of a subject cape around a patron's shoulders and neck, at least. However, such a structure exhibits its own problems in that such complete drape coverage requires an external application of two attracting magnets on either end of a subject cape. As with the snaps noted above, the lack of magnets placed along a line and ostensibly in contact with each other leaves the potential for gaps in drape coverage during use. Additionally, the ease of actual disengagement of such magnets from one another during a haircut or other treatment activity militates away from undertaking such potentially suspect connections, too.
Otherwise, the prior art shows very little in the way of suitable and reliable cape coverage facilitators in this respect. There are certain suggestions as to having slotted cardboard or plastic devices placed over the top edges of opposing cape ends during utilization that allow for both ends to slide through until reaching a certain point of complete cape coverage. A hold then retains both ends until removed. Unfortunately, such hold operations are similarly limited in reliability to magnets and snaps in that such a device relies upon a limited amount of actual contact by a barber, hairdresser, etc., during a hair treatment activity. Any bump, brush, or other type of typical movement and contact with such a hold could lead to disengagement and thus loss of the draped article at its needed disposition around the patron.
Thus, it is evident that there exists a significant need to overcome these deficiencies with a means to provide not only suitable connection between cape ends, but also in a manner that provides a reliable attachment that will not release until activated by the barber, hairdresser, etc. Additionally, such a means of connection should not exhibit any propensity to contact (and thus potentially irritate or scratch) the wearer's skin during operation, as well as a simple and easily actuated disengagement component to permit detachment on demand and the ability to adjust the cape opening to any degree. To date, other than the structures and alternative configurations noted above, the hair treatment industry is lacking such a beneficial cape end attachment device.